


could have been us

by tulipsforchuulip



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Light Angst, skater kim lip.. bestfriends to not so strangers???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:00:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28265067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tulipsforchuulip/pseuds/tulipsforchuulip
Summary: jungeun leaves jiwoo for her dreams.
Relationships: Kim Jiwoo | Chuu/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip
Kudos: 21





	could have been us

**Author's Note:**

> figure skater kim lip... very nice

"Jiwoo, I'll just change clothes, give me 3 minutes." Jungeun says, still sweaty from her skating practice. 

Jiwoo's been waiting for Jungeun for about an hour now, but she doesn't really mind. Jungeun has been doing figure skating for as long as Jiwoo remembers, and as they grow closer, Jungeun's love for skating also goes deeper. 

"Jiwoo, you ready?" Jungeun's hair is still messy so Jiwoo raises an eyebrow, signalling the other girl to fix her hair. 

They head towards the nearest food park, where they usually eat and talk about how their day went. Thank god it isn't that far, because Jiwoo's hungry. 

"Hey, are you okay? You tired?" Jiwoo blurts out before entering the entrance of the park, noticing Jungeun's out of her normal loud and talkative self. 

"I'll leave the country in 7 days, Jiwoo." her bestfriend says in a very cold and straightforward way. 

And just like that, her heart sinks. 

"Nice joke! You really had to put that cold tone, huh?" 

She's hoping it's a joke. It has got to be a joke. 

"Jiwoo, I'm serious. My coach signed me up for a skating try-out, and it turns out it was for an international competition. You know how much I sacrificed for this, you know how much time I spent just to practice all these moves, I can't just waste this opportunity." 

She doesn't know how to react to what her bestfriend just said. 

Well, she's more than a bestfriend to her. For Jiwoo, Jungeun's her soulmate, that one person who will always be beside you, that one person who will, no matter what, will always be there for you. Jiwoo loves her more than a bestfriend. 

Not knowing what to say, she makes up an excuse to leave early.  
After that night, she hasn't really talked to Jungeun that much. she thinks that maybe, just maybe, if she shuts herself from her bestfriend, maybe it will lessen the pain she'll feel when Jungeun leaves. 

( she's wrong ) 

Because as every minute pass by, she wonders if Jungeun already ate. She wonders how she's doing. She wonders if she's got enough time to bond with her. 

"Jiwoo?" 

She knows that voice. She knows it too well. 

'Your timing is so impeccable, Kim Jungeun.' 

"H-hey... uh... what brings you here? Aren't you usually in your literature class..." 

"Can we talk? Please?" 

"Jungeun I have classes." she says in a cold way, clearly trying her best not to lower down her guard. 

"5 minutes, Jiwoo. 5 minutes." 

"Fine, 5 minutes." 

"Are you avoiding me? Because after that night, I noticed you haven't dropped by the rink like you usually do. You aren't flooding me with long messages with emojis in the end." 

"Me? Avoiding you? How could i avoid you? Why do you even think I'm avoiding you?" Jiwoo puts on a sarcastic tone, telling her nothing but lies after lies. 

"It's just that... things have been tough. really tough. and I know you're really busy, preparing for the try-outs and all, I really didn't want to–" 

Jungeun pulls her to a tight hug. A hug both of them needed. These past few days has been hell for Jiwoo, avoiding Jungeun and at the same time worrying about the time they have left. 

"I missed you, it felt like I lost a part of me everytime you weren't around." 

'And to think that jungeun would be leaving me soon.'

Jungeun's words give Jiwoo two things. Butterflies and wounds. 

Those words weren't meant to give her heart a wound. 

( but it did. it gave her a very deep one. )

A simple "i missed you too" is all that she replies, in hopes that would be enough to cut their conversation down. 

—

Jiwoo's not in the mood to go the mall right now, but Jungeun insists. 

"Please just 1 hour, can we go to the mall?" 

Jiwoo lets out a heavy sigh. This week has been so tiring for her, she's bombarded with projects and at the same time she also has to deal with the fact that her bestfriend's leaving soon and she really just wants to flop in her bed. 

"For old times sake?" 

Jiwoo internally breaks down. It was near impossible to hold back the tears, but she does all she can to not shed a tear. 

"Fine, your treat." Jiwoo says in a playful tone, hoping it would hide the tears welling up. 

This was better than she actually expected, Jungeun didn't bring up the topic which she is thankful for, because she doesn't know what words she'll blurt out when she hears that again. 

They play a couple games after eating lunch, then they soon walk to the playground where they used to play. 

"Ah, I missed going here! Oh and look, the initials we carved are still here." jungeun says. 

"It's been a while, hasn't it? I really didn't expect we would still get to see our initials here." 

Silence takes over very quickly. It's very obvious both of them are very tense. 

"I'm leaving in 4 days, Jiwoo." 

"Hmm, have you packed your things? You ready to be the next star, Jungie?" she tries her best not to crack up. 

"W-well... I'm almost done packing. And no, actually. I'm not yet ready." 

"Why? You've been training for what, 9? 10 years?"  
"It's not that i'm doubting my skills, what i'm doubting is myself." 

Jiwoo looks at jungeun's eyes, in hopes of getting an answer. but Jungeun's eyes are far from having answers. And they're just... confused. anxious, even. 

"Hey, stop. You tend to think like this when you're doing something new, when you're exploring." 

Jiwoo holds Jungeun's hand and gently rubs them. 

"You're gonna be okay, trust me." 

Jungeun leans her head in Jiwoo's shoulder, and Jiwoo wraps her arms around the other girl. /p>

This is when Jiwoo senses Jungeun needs her the most. When Jungeun's anxious, when she's full of doubts.

"What would I do without you, Jiwoo? It's like you can see through me. You know what to say when i'm like this." 

Jiwoo lets out a deep sigh, 

"I wonder too, Jungeun. 

"I wonder too." 

Jiwoo has been holding these tears back for god knows how long now, and she knows if they don't leave soon, she doesn't know what she'll do. 

"Hey, Jungie? It's getting late... I think we should go home now." 

"Already?" Jungeun pulls out her pout and puppy eyes combination. 

"God, i hate you so much. Okay, we'll stay a bit longer" 

She hates how much control the other girl has over her.  
They've been spending more time together. Going to malls, eating together, watching their favorite movies and stuff. They've been busy catching up with each other since Jungeun's departure is nearing. 

Both of them somehow agreed not to bring up the topic, as it may only pull the mood down. 

Jungeun leaves the country in 2 days, and there's really that part in Jiwoo. The part of hers where she wishes none of this was true, and all of it was just a part of her bestfriend's 'little' pranks. 

( but she knows it's not ) 

"Jungeun, are you actually done packing? There's still space in your luggage so if you want to add more stuffs..." 

She notices Jungeun looking down while sitting on the edge of her bed. 

"What's the problem? You're feeling nervous?"  
"Yes. And I'm also wondering how I'm gonna fit you in the small space in my luggage." 

"Ohh.. that... well, I can curl myself so that I can fit!" 

Jungeun raises her head and their eyes meet. she sees her bestfriend's eyes are watery. 

"I'm gonna miss you, so so much. How am I supposed to live without you, you're practically me, in some sense." 

"Jungie, it's not like I'm gonna disappear or something. i can still give you a message? Perhaps even send you letters every now and then. OR I can just save up money so the moment I'm old enough to travel alone, I can see you as soon as possible!" 

Jungeun can't help but tear up. The fact that she'll be the one leaving her yet Jiwoo still exerts effort to do these stuffs. 

"Jiwoo you're making things harder for me, I hope you know that. You're making me rethink my life decisions." 

"Me? Making you rethink your life decisions? Kim Jungeun I did NOT raise you only to be swayed by a cute girl who cries because of cute little stickers." 

"Why are you suddenly angry... and I'm literally older than you how can you possibly raise me" 

"Well! My point remains unchanged. Anyway, Jungeun, 

Jungeun senses Jiwoo is really serious about what she's going to say. 

"Don't let anyone or anything make you rethink your decisions, okay? That'll just give you nothing but thoughts that will surely keep you up at night. And I know how much you value sleep so..." 

"Okay, okay, I understand ma'am. Enough with the serious talk. I'm not used to this." 

Jiwoo spends the night in Jungeun's house as she wants to spend the remaining time with her best friend 

( not that it's a new thing ) 

They face the day they're both most scared of. They spent that last 2 days glued together and they're starting to think it's a bad idea. 

"Jungie is your passport with you? How about your ticket? Are you sure you get everything packed?" 

"Jiwoo, you're starting to look like my mom" Jungeun says as she push her trolly near the gate. 

"Promise to write letters? Promise to send me messages?" Jungeun says while pouting, something she doesn't do that often. 

"I promise, jungeun. Letters with my cute stickers, check! Messages with emojis in the end, another check!" Jiwoo does her best not to break down because if she does, it'll just affect both her and Jungeun.  
"Now, go on, hurry up! Chase your dreams! You can't chase your dreams if you're gonna be late for the flight, you know." 

Jungeun couldn't hold back, tears flowing down her cheeks. 

"Hey, stop crying! You're one step closer to achieving all of your dreams, that's... INSANE" Jiwoo tries her best to lift up the mood. 

"Last hug before I go?" Jungeun mumbles, arms wide open. 

"Of course." 

"I'm gonna miss you, Jiwooming." 

"I'm gonna miss you too, Jungie." 

"Hug times over, I think you need to go inside now" 

Jungeun rechecks her baggage, making sure she got everything prepared.  
She starts walking to the entrance, and Jiwoo's glad Jungeun's not looking back because it wouldn't be nice to see your bestfriend sobbing. 

— 

[ time skip: 5 years ]

"Jiwoo, i found our seats!" Sooyoung shouts to get the other girl's attention. 

"Right in time, it's almost starting." 

"First to perform, Kim Jungeun, South Korea." 

Tge crowd gives her a significant cheer, and Jiwoo can't help but feel warm inside 

"you made it." 

This is the first time Jiwoo's seeing Jungeun skate. Well, atleast first time in five years. She's far from the rink, but she can see how Jungeun got so mature.  
Jungeun does her routine, which to Jiwoo's surprise, hasn't changed. 

Soon enough, she starts performing. Words cannot describe how Jungeun is so in sync with the music playing. She does all kinda of jumps and twirls gracefully, while hitting every note. 

"You made it. I'm so proud of you." Jiwoo whispers but somehow Sooyoung still got to hear it. 

"What?" 

"No, nothing... I was talking to myself." Sooyoung smiles as a response. 

after a couple while, Jungeun's performance ends, and she gets yet another loud cheer from the crowd as Jiwoo gets ready to leave the stadium. 

"Leaving already?" Sooyoung interrupts. 

"Yeah, something urgent came up. Don't worry, you can finish the whole program."

It's been a while since Jiwoo last saw Jungeun perform, and it makes her feel overwhelmed by the emotions. She's happy because of course, she saw Jungeun again. But she's sad because she saw her from afar. It's been so long she doesn't really know how to face her. She's sad because she changed so much she doesn't know if there will still be a "jungie" inside of her. 

"Jiwoo?" someone calls her from behind 

And she's surprised because she knows that voice, She knows it too well. She looks back and to no one's surprise, 

It's Jungeun. 

And Jiwoo doesn't know what to feel. Yes, she's supposed to be happy, but there's something deep inside her that just somehow pulls her down. 

She sees her more closely, and she can see that Jungeun matured. She got a little bit taller, she's blonde now, too. Jiwoo memorizes every detail she can see. And oh, a moon tattoo? That's something even jiwoo was surprised at, considering Jungeun's scared of needles. 

"Jungeun, it's you!" she says in a jolly way, hoping it didn't come off as sarcastic. 

"It's been what, 5 years already? You've improved so much!" 

"Yeah, 5 years since we last saw each other. God, time flies so fast, doesn't it? Well, anyway, why are you here? You flew halfway across the globe..." 

"Well... our boss sent us here to give some proposals to special clients..." Jiwoo clearly sees Jungeun's hoping for something. 

"... And I also came to see an old friend perform." 

She sees Jungeun's eyes form little moon crescents as she smile, and the view sends waves of memories to her. 

'The same smile I grew up looking at.' 

"That would've been so embarassing if you didn't give me THAT answer... I was really expecting, not gonna lie." 

"And, uh, Jiwoo? Can I ask you something?" Jungeun asks as she fiddles with her hands, clearly nervous. 

"Sure, ask anything." 

"We had something before, right?" 

The question leaves jiwoo stunned. she was hoping for a nice "how are you?" or a "what have you been up to?". Nothing prepared her for that question. 

"Because I swear you treated me more than a bestfriend would usually treat her friend. And you–" 

She was cut off by a loud call from the other end of the building. 

"Hey, Kim Jungeun! The officials need you" the girl shouts. 

"Oh, she's calling you. I think you should go now..." 

Jungeun lets out a heavy sigh. 

"Yeah, I think I should. I'll see you around?" 

Jiwoo gives Jungeun her warm and reassuring smile. 

"Sure." 

Jungeun quickly runs to the other girl, who seems to be her colleague and judging the way Jungeun practically jumps to hug the girl, maybe she's also her girlfriend. 

The sight left tons of emotions to Jiwoo. Something maybe even time can't heal. 

"That could've been us, Jungeun."

**Author's Note:**

> AAAAHHHHHHHH this was the hardest to write because i think of so many prompts it makes me distracted.
> 
> special mention to @/thinkingabtlip for that figure skater kim lip tweet that awakened something in me.
> 
> this was more of jiwoo's pov, but dw we'll have jungeun's side on this... i just don't know when i'll post it


End file.
